Emperor Leomar Ivrae I (born Lénnard Ivrae de Sange; born 26th of August 13 AC - 12 March 73 AC) was the second Emperor of the Regalian Empire, and the founder of the Imperial Fleet. Reigning from 61 to 73 AC, Leomar was an important figure responsible for a number of actions that decided the future of the Empire and its faith. He had a strong belief that the Church was central to state doctrine, contributed to the propagation of the military, and he created the fleet that proved to be the Empire’s greatest weapon in numerous times to come. He earned the accolade of “The Courageous” through his leadership during the First Hecarian Conflict and the First Skagger War. Generally, he is viewed positively by Regalian historians for his efforts to further Ailor-kind.

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Origins and Early Life

Leomar Ivrae was the first of the Ivrae dynasty to be born within the confines of the Grand Imperial Palace, his father was Theomar the Holy, the first Emperor of Regalia, and his mother was Guinevere Ivrae the Pure. The marriage was seen as slow to produce a child, taking seven years after his father’s coronation then marriage for the first successful conception, Lénnard. This was a result of Theomar’s concentration on his Imperial and holy duties, which he continued to do even after his son’s birth. Thus, while growing up, Lénnard had little interaction with either of his parents, setting a precedent for the future. He was raised under the care of wet nurses and a Reverend by the name of Gerhardt, who often took time out of his duties to visit and assist in the raising of the child, something initially frowned upon by high society, but condoned by Theomar.

History

Lénnard spent much of his time absorbed in military codices and manuals, determined to serve as a good commander. He began serving at the young age of 25, as a skilled and intelligent strategist, and participated in the First Hecarian War courageously, taking to the field in a number of battles. He earned his fame for bravery on these battlefields and eventually married a loving and devout wife, Adelais “the Gentle.” He had numerous children throughout the years, his first at age 30 with more following that. While his father’s health deteriorated, he had little interaction with him until his final few days, where Theomar allowed family and friends to visit him. Lénnard shed many tears at his father's’ side in an open display of mourning. At the age of 48, in the year of 61 AC, he ascended the throne as the new Emperor after his father passed away, and took the regnal name of Leomar I. He was an initially distraught ruler and inexperienced, but he gave reassurances to the shaken Empire that Theomar awaited them in the Afterlife, and that he had become the new Holy vessel to the Imperial Spirit that worked to guide them. His first action was to complete the work of the First Imperial Diet which had declared the Evintarians heretics. In support of the Synod, within a few weeks of being crowned, Leomar I banished them to Etosil. He continued to work closely with the church in the following months, taking advice on how to reign from Reverends and members of the Holy Synod who had worked with his predecessor.

To much enjoyment of the newly coronated Emperor, he also had the “Lazy Chancellor” Aldomir Kade, a man who did not compete with him in Royal authority whatsoever, unlike his father Caldomir Kade. As a result, Leomar needed to be very hands-on, often working on paperwork with less time than he wished to spend on his beloved Synod. In the interwar period of 62 - 68 AC, the Emperor spent much of his time devoting effort to consolidating the last conquests of the Empire, both through direct meddling and organisation of marriages between lower families, and overarching proclamations carried out by his loyal Unionists. He also spent many hours organising his Imperial Court, something that frayed at his patience and nerves. Many of the nobility testified being witness to the Emperor’s more common angry tirades. Meanwhile, raids by Skagger barbarians from the north were becoming increasingly commonplace, to the horror of those who were afflicted. He found himself forced to declare war on the Horde in 68 AC, his conscious heavy with the tales of the Sack of Verguldulf from the previous year. Unfortunately, the Regalian military strategy did not allow troops to be shifted north to attack the Horde. Leomar decided to call upon the newly converted of the realm to fight for their Emperor and faith, urging them to take up arms and head north to fight. The Holy War was considered a success, despite the minimal gains; the zealot forces had traveled through Dorinn before invading and occupying the coastline of what is now known as Holzskagger. With the Holy War going well, Leomar turned to another theater, interstate politics.

The Iltar Kingdom was viewed as a kingdom of heroes for their assistance in the Five Family Rebellion that had turned the tide and led to the formation of the Regalian Empire. The trading monarchy had a high level of influence on Theomar the Holy as well, but Leomar knew such a state, left alone, may prove problematic in the future due to its proximity to the Crown Isle. Rather than declare war, and risk losing public support, the Regalian Empire began to exert diplomatic pressure and influence on them. In particular, Leomar met with the then King’s brother, a converted Unionist who was receptive to Regalian overtures and long-harbored jealousy of his mere one minute older sibling. In 69 AC, the King’s brother seized power in a bloodless coup before the man immediately surrendered the territory to the “better hands” of the Regalian Empire. He and his brother lived out the rest of their lives in peace on private estates.

The years of constant paperwork and war had begun to burden the Emperor as he neared the end of his tenure as the Most Holy of Holy, no longer leading his beloved armies from the battlefield as he had before. In an effort to stave off his ill health through dedicating himself to action, Leomar began work to form a new official branch of the military to erase any need for future reliance on foreign powers. He summoned a council with the most prominent captains available and, using the many ships and the naval knowledge of the absorbed Iltar Kingdom, formulated a state-owned naval force. Months later, Leomar publicly announced the formation of the Imperial Navy and gave it his Imperial boon by blessing the navy’s flagship. It was not perfect, but it served its purpose well and continues to serve valiantly. In 71 AC, after years of conflict composed largely of Regalian armies pursuing the smaller enemy forces, Leomar had his peace demands sent to the Kingdoms in a diplomatic sortie, demanding that his list of conditions be met: Large land concessions, reparations and official declarations of apology to add salt to injury. These were accepted reluctantly.

Later Life

The Emperor found himself increasingly ill and found himself pondering the irony that he was to pass away ill in the same bed as his father before him; a cruel twist of fate. Overworking had led to his downfall, falling ill as a result of the many years of vibrant and dutiful effort he had put into playing his part as his father would have wanted. He had faith in the Imperial Spirit, however, so did not fear his death. In his dying months, he took the time to travel instead and visit the realms that he so loved, especially spending time, albeit from a distance, with the nobility of his family lands. He returned to the Grand Imperial Palace only a week before his death, his condition rapidly deteriorating. When he passed away quietly in his sleep on March 12th, 73 AC, the throne, and the Spirit were passed on to his son Lancelin, and the Regalian Empire mourned another lost Emperor.

Personality

Leomar was a deeply pious and devout man, both in private and public life. He is lauded in textbooks for his intense support for the Holy Synod and his brave conduct during the wars of the time. In noble circles of the time, he was known colloquially as “Emperor of Churches” for his wholesale support of the Holy Synod and his tendency to prefer advice from the priesthood rather than his admittedly useless Chancellor, such as with the declaration of Holy War against the Skaggers. This was not out of a lack of intelligence, but from his wishes to overcome flaws that he saw with himself.
In line with the doctrines of level-headedness pushed by Unionism, he was rarely seen to lose his composure. His moments of public weakness have been subsequently erased through meticulous Regalian history keeping, leaving some obvious gaps in record-keeping to those with a trained eye. In reality, he was passionate and carried a sense of ambition and duty at all times, something that was kept to the backrooms and private meetings of the Empire’s administration. Few people knew his true character, and those privileged few were composed primarily of High nobility, members of the Synod, and his wife. He refused to take any Imperial Consorts, as he believed it to be weak and immoral. Rash behaviour was commonplace in the Emperor’s twelve-year reign, and he was oft prone to jumping to conclusions with an often unnecessary sense of bravado and confidence.

Legacy

Leomar the Courageous is well-known and beloved among Admirals of the Navy for his efforts in the creation of the branch of the military, by Alt-Regalian socialites as an example of a proper ruler and Lord who put the good of Humanity first and protected the interests of the Empire, and by historians as a uniquely public Emperor. He is beloved amongst the community of the old Ivrae lands, nicknamed “Old Courageous.” Interestingly though to be expected, the people of Holzskagger developed a different opinion, who bitterly know him as the villainous and rage-filled Emperor that began the violent cycle of the Skagger Wars.

Extended Family

Leomar married an Ithanian woman by the name of Adelais “the Gentle” d’Trouveau, a loving and caring noblewoman. The marriage was politically driven, but the couple grew to care for each other. They had numerous children, the most important being his second-born heir, Lancelin, who was destined for the throne and to become the next Emperor Leomar II, after his first-born passed away. The rest of the children were given a choice in their careers but largely kept to the palace or married into other families.

Trivia

The Emperor carried a journal of his innermost thoughts and musings with him through most of his life. Mysteriously, it disappeared after he passed away. Some suspect that it is still out there, waiting to be found and hidden away.

Leomar raised numerous hounds during his life, as a lover of hunting, but also as a mechanism for dealing with stress in his life. Notably, in his last years, he had no hounds at his side.